Tito Sotto
Vicente Castelo Sotto III, better known as Tito Sotto, is a Filipino musician, television host actor, comedian, sportsman , and politician. He is one of the five original hosts who pioneered Eat Bulaga! in 1979. Along with Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon who makes up the iconic comedy trio known as TVJ, Tito is one of the only three remaining original hosts who is still part of the show's roster. Currently, Tito Sotto is on an indefinite hiatus from Eat Bulaga! ''after being elected as the President of the Senate of the Philippines on 21 May 2018. Early life and education Vicente Castelo Sotto III was born on 24 August 1948 in Manila, Philippines. His parents were Marcelino Ojeda Sotto and Dr. Herminia Castelo Sotto, who was a staunch women's rights activist and the first Medical Commissioner of Workmen's Compensation Commission and President Emeritus of the Kababaihang Rizalista ng Pilipina. He has one older brother, Val, and two younger brothers, Maru and Vic. All of the siblings became prominent in the Philippine entertainment industry. Tito comes from a notable political family in the Philippines. His paternal grandfather and namesake was Vicente Sotto y Yap, who infamously authored the Press Freedom Law of 1946 during his term in the Senate. His granduncle, Filemon Sotto y Yap, also served as a member of the House of Representatives for four consecutive terms and a senator in the early 1900s. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in English at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Intramuros, Manila. He embarked in an Executive Program for Leaders in Development in John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University that he completed in June 2000. Prior to ''Eat Bulaga! Music ventures Before Eat Bulaga!, ''Tito Sotto first became prominent in the 1960s as the lead guitar and vocalist of the popular combo group Tilt Down Men, which was the local version of the English pop rock band, The Dave Clark Five. In the group, he was joined by his brother Val Sotto who was the bass guitarist of the group. In one of the group’s radio tours, he met Joey de Leon, who was then a DJ at a radio station. In the early 1970s, Tito was offered the position of vice president for Artist and Repertoire of Vicor Music Corporation. He was well-acquainted with the owners Vic del Rosario and Orly Ilacad from his days with the group Tilt Down Men. Young Vic Sotto would often come to the office to see Tito after school. Vic could sing and del Rosario put him under contract with Vicor. Vic's self-titled solo album was one of Tito’s first projects. Eventually, Tito, together with Vic and elder brother Val, formed VST & Co, which later became one of the most successful bands of the 1970s and is considered by many to be the pioneer of the Manila Sound. Tito was a composer and vocalist of the band. '''Formation of TVJ' Later, Tito and Vic joined their brother Val Sotto in IBC-13's gag show OK Lang. At the time, Joey de Leon was also already part of the show. While Tito and Joey were already good friends, this was the first time Vic and Joey first met one another. Together, Tito, Vic, and Joey eventually developed a solid friendship during their time at the show. Soon, the comic troika of Tito, Vic, and Joey was born. In 1975, Joey became a co-host of GMA Network's afternoon variety show Discorama. He invited his former OK Lang ''co-stars Tito, Val, and Vic to join him at ''Discorama. Only Tito and Vic accepted Joey's invitation. Combining their wits together, the trio further gained popularity in the segment Tough Hits ''where they parodied various Top 40 hit songs. Joey made up most of the lyrics. The trio was soon invited to become pinch-hitters for GMA Network's noontime show ''Student Canteen. ''Here, they also released albums based on their ''Tough Hits segment from Discorama. At this time, further opportunities were knocking on his door. The wacky trio was offered to star in a comedy show, Iskul Bukol ''(which was aired on IBC-13), where Tito and Joey became the Escalera brothers engaged in never-ending schemes to outwit their classmates, one of whom was the provincial hick Victorio Ungasis (played by Vic Sotto) and their professor Miss Tapia (Mely Tagasa) . As an ''Eat Bulaga! ''Dabarkads '''A pioneer of ''Eat Bulaga!' After ''Student Canteen, ''the trio accepted an offer made by Tony Tuviera to become hosts of a new noontime show on the Radio Philippines Network (RPN-9). ''Eat Bulaga! ''premiered on July 30, 1979. Along with Chiqui Hollman and Ritchie D'Horsie, TVJ became the pioneer hosts of the television program. Tito was 30 years old at the time of the show's premiere. Since then, Tito remains loyal to ''Eat Bulaga! ''even though no contracts bind him to the noontime program and its production company. For more than three decades, Tito Sotto has devoted his life to ''Eat Bulaga! along with Vic and Joey. Together, they remain the three pillars of the longest-running noontime show in the Philippines. Balancing showbiz and politics Tito entered the Philippine political scene without permanently leaving the show. When he first came in the Senate in 1992, Tito went on a long hiatus for twelve years in order to concentrate in politics and did not return to Eat Bulaga! ''until 2004. The Sexbomb version of the ''Eat Bulaga! theme song in the early 2000s actually removed Tito's name from the lyrics, replacing "Sina Tito, Vic, and Joey..." with "Sina Papa Vic at Joey..." due to his absence from the show. He bid farewell again in February 2007 to Eat Bulaga! ''during his reelection campaign but subsequently returned to the show after failing to win a seat in the elections. On 4 July 2008, Tito was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board. Since then, Tito has learned how to balance showbiz and politics. After being reelected in 2010 as a senator, Tito takes pride in never being absent or late in Senate sessions. In fact, he regularly co-hosted the noontime show when Senate sessions were in recess from Thursday to Saturday. '''Indefinite hiatus from the show' On 21 May 2018, Tito was elected as the President of the Senate of the Philippines, taking on a much more important role in Philippine politics. As a result, he temporarily bade goodbye to the noontime show to carry out the duties of the office. Tito said that he may only appear during anniversary celebrations of the noontime show. Personal life Tito is married to beauty queen and actress Helen Gamboa. They have four children: Romina, Diorella Maria, Gian Carlo and Ciara. Ciara followed showbiz footsteps of his father by joining as an Eat Bulaga! ''host in the early 2000s. Meanwhile, his son Gian and daughter Diorella Maria was elected councilors of different districts of Quezon City Tito is an avid bowler and was a member of the Philippine national bowling team, representing the country several times at the AMF World Cup. He also plays golf and has won several tournaments. Filmography 'Eat Bulaga's Lenten Special' '''Other notable portrayals' Awards and nominations The following list only includes the awards and nominations of Tito Sotto for his contributions as a host in the noontime show ''Eat Bulaga! ''as well as other notable achievement awards for his important contributions to the Philippine entertainment industry. Category:Hosts Category:Pioneer Hosts Category:Dabarkads